Given my interest in music, it is perhaps not surprising that when a book was released all about a musician, and especially one that is loosely based on real events and a rather famous Baroque Composer. I thought I had to read it. The blurb for The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable says:
Anna Maria may have no name, no fortune, no family. But she has her ambition, and her talent.
Her best hope lies in her teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. Soon she is his star pupil.
But as Anna Maria’s star rises, not everyone is happy. Because Anna Maria’s shining light is threatening to eclipse that of her mentor…
She will leave her mark, whatever it takes. And her story will be heard.
Anna Maria was born to a woman who could not look after her, for whatever reason. She is given up, left in a box at the local Convent, and raised in the Convent’s orphanage. As a young child she develops a very close bond with 2 other girls, also left at the orphanage by their mothers, but one dies at a young age.
Anna Maria’s life in the orphanage is hard, but she and all the girls there are given the opportunity to learn to play musical instruments. The orphanage is renowned for its girls’ orchestra and its musical teaching. It is a source of considerable income for the Convent. Anna Maria is a musically gifted child. She loves music, it consumes her being, it is all she wants to do. She not only hears music, but also sees it as she has the condition sound-colour synesthesia. She is learning to play other instruments when one day she hears a violin being played and it is love at first note. She has to learn to play it herself, and is, of course, incredibly talented.
As time goes on Anna Maria, a naturally very ambitious young girl, she realises that playing the violin is a way to escape her fate of being married off to anyone who comes along to the Convent wanting to marry her. Her desire to be the best violinist there grows and grows, and she starts composing her own music. She longs to earn the title Maestro, and impresses and works with her mentor on his compositions. Anna Maria grows up and realises that no matter how talented and admired she is, she is still a woman, and is still bound by society’s attitudes towards women. And he mentor uses those attitudes, and Anna Maria’s wild ambition to suit his own ambitions.
I mentioned above that this book is loosely based on real events. While the mentor is named in the book’s blurb as being Antonio Vivaldi, Anna Maria’s mentor is not actually named in the main story itself, but rather in the author’s note. In this note the author talks about her inspiration for the book, her sources, and about what she has invented herself. It is important to note when reading this book, that while it is historically based, and the attitudes towards girls in the orphanage, and to women in general as portrayed in the book will be very accurate, the author does use a lot of licence. This is a work of fiction, and should not be read as a sort of documentary if you like.
I did like this book, although I found it rather irritating that Anna Maria was immediately an excellent violinist, never appearing to go through the stage of learning the violin where the bow scratches along the string and the tuning of the notes is very dodgy as a student learns the physical skills involved in learning a musical instrument. No matter how talented and musically interested you are, everyone has to go through that stage, where it is more about learning the physical skills than any musical interpretation. I also found Anna Maria as a character rather unlikable. She is ambitious, and terrified of her fate if she isn’t in the Convent’s orchestra, but she was almost ruthless in her ambition. I don’t necessarily think it is a bad thing to have an unlikable main character, but I didn’t think that Anna Maria had many other redeeming characteristics, other than feeling sorry for her and for how she was taken advantage of by the people around her.
I thought the book was OK, and mostly enjoyed it. It is not a book that will stay with me for a long time after reading it, but it was a good read. It was quite plot-driven and an easy read.
This is not a particularly salacious book, though it does mention some adult themes. You know your children best, but I think teenagers aged over 14 or 15 would be fine to read this book.
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable is available to buy from many book retailers, and at the time of writing is available on Amazon priced at £9 for hardcover and £9.99 for paperback, though prices can go up as well as down depending on demand on Amazon.
I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
getkidsintomusic.com 
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